Anyone?
by nadajdui
Summary: What will happen when a love is broken, a mariage crippled? Who will come and save the day when all others step back in fear? Who will come and show their strength. Will anyone?


Is there a sin for being too friendly? Because if there really is, I would like to know the reason. Putting aside your own personal values To aid another in need, Is that a bad thing? Risking your job for one you care for, Just because they need a shoulder to cry on, Is that a bad thing? I need the answers to these questions. Please, someone tell me, It's killing me, It's vanquishing me. I'm turning into something cold, Please I'm so scared. Just tell me the truth, I need to know this. Is there anyone out there...?  
  
2300 Hours, Monday  
  
Sergeant Quatre Winner of the Nanaimo RCMP sat alone at his desk. His head was lowered between outstretched arms, and his eyes were clenched closed. As his body shook with unshed tears, his hands gripped solidly onto the far edge of his desk. While he squeezed he could feel the pressure building up, and he knew it was only a matter of time before his fingers began to bruise, and later bleed.  
"Shannon, come back. Gods, please...I need you...Shannon..." Winner spoke with a crippling need, a passion that could not be extinguished. The words flowed from his lips, and they quaked as his body did.  
With a rally of strength, the officer lifted his head just high enough to clench the muscles in his right hand. In a fury, he slammed his right first down over the desk. A crack was issued throughout the room, but he wasn't the one who cracked. Pulling his hand back, pain shooting through muscle and bones, he stared at the long, nearly straight fracture that ran from one end of the desk to the other. That was definitely going to take some explaining.  
With a growl, Quatre leaned back in his seat. He had told himself the moment he stepped into the station that he wasn't going to go back. Now, however, there was no choice. He shut his eyes, and he allowed his mind to drift back to yesterday...  
  
0213 Hours, Monday  
  
"Fuck you, Quatre! You're just too attached to me, get out of my life! You aren't wanted anymore, do you understand?!"  
Hearing his wife of 5 years speak to him in such a manner was mind blowing. Not once had she ever told him these things. She had never complained about his attitude toward her. In fact, she had revelled in it, always asking for a little more. And he always gave it.  
"Lindsey, I don't understand, no. Why are you suddenly treating me like the enemy here?" Winner tried to stay calm, tried to tap into the emotions and feelings he was trained to have in a situation like this: None. But no, this wasn't some drug-using prostitute, this was his wife. He loved her so much; he had to let go of his feelings a little bit.  
"It's really simple, Quatre. You pack all of your things, and you get out of my house!"  
"Lindsey, we live here together, this is our house, not just yours. We both chipped in for the mortgage, remember?"  
"I don't care. I am going to have your child, so I NEED this house! You're just a man, you can afford to go get an apartment or something stupid like that. I need this house!"  
The words stung Winner far more than he would ever admit. His knees felt weak.  
  
"Lindsey," he said gently. "You need to stop telling me about why you need the house more than I do, and let me know what I have done wrong so it can be fixed."  
"Ha!" Lindsey's eyes flashed with tears. "Stop trying to change the subject, jack ass! I need the house, now GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!"  
Winner's eyes widened at his wife's dramatic outburst. He couldn't help but stumble back a few steps, his arms moving out to either side so he could balance himself. Without another word, Lindsey strode loudly over to the door and wrenched it open, pointing outside.  
"Now get the HELL out of my house!"  
"Listen, I am not leaving until you give me a good reason why I should leave. Come on, love, give me something."  
"I don't love you, Quatre! That good enough for ya?!"  
A chill drifted through the air after those horrible words were spoken. Both husband and wife stood there in silence, neither knowing what to say next, now that the truth had come out.  
  
2310 Hours, Monday  
  
Winner was woken up by Chief Constable Chang Wufei, who firmly grabbed his shoulder and shook. Winner was nearly thrown out of his chair, and he had to brace his feet apart. His eyes flew open, his right hand immediately going for his gun. Wufei moved with rattlesnake speed and captured the travelling hand.  
"Winner, it's Wufei. Easy!"  
Winner clenched his fist in an attempt to loosen the anaconda grip around his arm, but to no avail. His eyes shifted to the chief's face, and a low sigh escaped his lips. He had always been jealous of his cousin, not because of his rank, but because of his looks. His features were beyond handsome, so beyond, in fact, that they could be angelic. Smokey jet eyes were full of intelligent life, the colour of the irises stunning, yet hardly noticeable at the same time. A second look was required in order to face those magnificent orbs. His hair was of the same amazing black, cropped just short enough so that criminals could immerse themselves in trying to grab his hair for an advantage, yet wonder why, in the end, it was simply not possible. Wufei's frame was firm and tall. He was cresting 6'3", at minimum. Broad shoulders and a powerful chest were two of the deputy's best physical assets, and he got more attention that anyone else in the station because of those two things. Winner often wondered how it was possible that he was still single.  
Blinking away his physical assessment of Wufei, Winner gave his head a slight shake. When he spoke, he could feel his chest beginning to clench. "Cheif...I thought you were working the morning shift today."  
Wufei gave a low laugh. "Yes, I was. I just dropped by to see how you were doing."  
It was a lie, and Winner caught it the moment the chief laid it out for him. "Wufei, don't lie to a fellow officer." His eyes lifted so he could meet them with Wufei's.  
Wufei pursed his lips and gave his head a light shake. "All right. One of your friends, I'm not naming names right now, said you were supposed to be on patrol 4 hours ago, and also that you came in here almost 2 hours late. What the hell is going on? You had better tell me the truth because I'm supposed to be sleeping right now."  
Winner ducked his head slightly, breaking eye contact with Wufei. "Can we talk about this another time?"  
"No, you are going to tell me now. We're family, and family needs to trust each other. Hell, this entire station is a family, no matter what time they work. We look out for each other, and I am looking out for you. Got it?"  
Winner swallowed thickly, feeling his throat start to close up. "Lindsey hates me."  
"God DAMN that woman!" Was all Chang said before he turned and headed for his own office.  
Winner tried to speak loud enough so he could stop the deputy, but he couldn't even get a single word out. Tears seeping from his eyes, the sergeant lowered his head onto the ruined desk and just cried.  
  
0500 Hours, Tuesday  
  
"Is there anyone in there? Speak now, or I'm letting the dog go!" Sergeant Winner yelled into the half open doorway.  
It had started out like a normal patrol. He had just brought the boys at the station some coffee, just because he was a good guy. That's when it all started. A call had come in on the radio. It was a 10-33. A fellow officer was in dire need of assistance. Teeth gritted, Winner had put the police cruiser into gear and booted it toward the elementary building. That's where he was supposed to go, Wayland Elementary School. On the radio he had heard something about a guy looting computers and stuff inside the school. No one knew if anyone else was in there with him, or if the guy was armed.  
Now he was there at the scene, calling out that he was going to release the dog, likely the greatest partner he would ever have in his career as a police officer. There was no answer. Looking grim, he unhooked the leash from the dog's collar and let him go. As he waited, three other police cruisers pulled up, and 6 armed men and women strode with purpose toward him, all of them cautious and crouched low.  
"Chief says if it gets bad we're gonna have to call the ERT in here," the only female officer said to Winner.  
The sergeant gave a short little nod. A few seconds later, a shot was fired. Moments later, the desperate cries of the police dog could be heard from down the hall, the sounds gut wrenching. It made Winner's heart flutter in his chest, and then he just wasn't thinking anymore.  
"DALIN!!!! Christ, Dalin!!!" He screamed as he bolted headlong into the school.  
Cocking his weapon. Winner didn't even hear the other officers trying to call him back. The sounds of a shotgun being reloaded registered in his ears, and suddenly Winner had a purpose: He was going to hunt this fucker down and send him down to Hell.  
The sergeant pressed himself firmly against the wall as he closed in on a corner, his heart pounding like a thousand drums in his chest. His breaths were filled with the feeling of life as that great muscle pumped him full of adrenaline. As he crept with his back to the wall toward the corner, only one thing was clear in his mind: Dalin. Was he all right? Had he even been shot? Where was he? Was he even alive?  
Reaching the corner, Winner took in a deep, refreshing breath and peeked around it. There was nothing but an empty hallway. Nodding to himself, he was about to move on when his radio crackled to life.  
"Winner, if you don't come out of there right now, we are going to have to send in the ERT whether you're in there or not. It's your call."  
"Let them come," was all Winner said. And then he turned the radio off.  
He actually didn't want them to come, but his friend was in here, and he had to save him. It was his first time working with this particular canine, but they had clicked so easily. It was like it was meant to be. Being a police officer, he knew, wasn't all about following rules and regulations, it was about saving lives and protecting those around you. And that is what he was doing, right here and right now.  
He moved slowly around the corner, his gun stretched out. It was dark, but Winner had excellent night vision, and so there was little problem with how shaded the areas around him were.  
"Come on out, fuck head. It's just you and me in here now. Take your chance, come on. I fucking DARE YOU TO COME AND GET ME!" Winner screamed. He knew he was losing it, or he already had. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything but his dog right now.  
There was no answer. The sergeant was starting to get desperate now, as there were no clues at all that could lead him to where his friend had gone. He moved down the hall at a slow pace, ready to fire his weapon at any given moment. His heart was racing now, moving far faster than any drums could beat. It was beginning to hurt.  
Glass broke behind him, and he heard soft voices. They were whispering. It was the ERT. Swearing under his breath, Winner tried a few doors. They were all locked. Having no choice but to run, he slipped around another corner. Something tripped him, something he hadn't seen. He fell onto his face, spinning out of control before coming to a stop on his back. He stared up at the barrel of a high powered rifle. ERT was the first thought he had, but then he noticed that the gun was shaking. It wasn't shaking hard, but just slightly. No man or woman on the ERT would be shaking or sweating on a mission. This had to be the guy they were all after.  
"The ERT are here. There's no way out for you now, ass hole," Winner said, almost choking on hysterical laughter.  
"Dude, if you want to see your dog ever again, you'll shut your face and do as I say!" the robber yelled.  
Moving with all the speed he could muster, Winner shot two rounds out of his gun. Both of them hit the robber in the right knee, dropping him to the floor. The rifle went off, the bullet grazing Winner across the throat, nearly slashing open his jugular vein. Even though it was just a graze, it still stunned him enough so that his vision blurred, and his head started to spin. From around the corner now, came the shouts of the ERT.  
Growling, moving his free hand to clutch his bleeding neck, he got up and started running down the hall. Three shots were fired, and the sergeant hit the floor.  
  
One year later  
  
Sadness in his eyes, Chief Chang stared at the picture of his cousin, Sergeant Quatre Winner. He had been a great man. Someone everyone could trust. Shaking his head, Wufei tore the picture up and tossed it in the garbage bin beside his desk. A tear threatened to seep passed his eyes, but he blinked it away and took in a deep breath. That had been a year ago, there was no point in getting all upset about it now.  
"Hey, uh, chief. Someone's here to see you," A female officer said as she poked her head in the door.  
Giving a nod, Wufei sorted out the papers on his desk a little, in a vain attempt to make the already tidy work surface even cleaner. A woman with coal dark curls stepped into Wufei's office and seated herself down in the chair. The Chief stared at her without blinking, his lips parting.  
"Winner...?"  
She smiled softly when he said that and shook her head. "No, I'm Lindsey Shepard now. I just..." she lowered her eyes and stared at her hands before continuing on, still not looking at him. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that this all had to happen. If I had just..."  
Wufei stood slowly from his chair, giving his head a shake. "No, Lindsey. Winner still would have come to work. It would have been the same, there was nothing anyone could do. It's a miracle Dalin's even alive and working after that headshot he was dealt."  
Tears starting to flow down her cheeks, Lindsey nodded. She moved a hand to her mouth as she tried to get a grip on herself, laughing nervously. "I'm sorry, WUfei, sometimes I just get like this now."  
Sitting back in his chair, the chief smiled. "That's all right, Lindsey. Now, why did you come here?"  
The black haired woman sitting across from Wufei said nothing as she looked up into his eyes. Tears still slipped past her eyes, and an anger Wufei was accustomed to seeing in crazed criminals ignited in her eyes.  
"You killed my husband, you ass hole. My GOD, Wufei, why did you send them in! If you hadn't sent them in, everything would be fine, Quatre would still be alive!!! He would be here still, with me!"  
Wufei didn't even twitch as he watched Lindsey, waiting patiently. When he knew she wasn't going to say anything else, he responded in a soft, gentle voice. "This was explained over the news. The ERT knew Winner was in there. The guy who shot him was a criminal, he wasn't even supposed to be there. No one knew what was happening until Winner was dead."  
"And yet you still haven't caught this guy yet. How do you even know it's a guy?! It's been a year, Wufei, DO something!"  
Lindsey slammed her first down on the desk, then got to her feet and fled from the room, the sounds of her sobs reverberating throughout most of the station. Ignoring the astonished looks people were giving him, the chief quietly picked out a piece of paper from the pile and went right back to work. Nothing could be done unless there was the right kind of evidence. That's the way the world worked these days. It was true, no one even had a lead as to who had shot Winner; they would get there, though. They had to.  
The chief almost threw his pen at the doorway as another knock sounded.  
"You know," he spoke in an amused tone as he looked up. "It IS open."  
The same female officer who had told him Lindsey was here gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry to disturb you, sir, but there's a package waiting for you."  
He arched an eyebrow, then leaned back in his seat and levelled his eyes on her. "Mail is picked up at the end of the day, you know that."  
She fidgeted. "Yes, I know, but it said 'Urgent' in huge red letters across the top of it, and the guy who delivered it said it had to be opened right away."  
Wufei nodded. "Well, if you see the guy again, tell him that I got the package all right. I'm busy, I'll see to the mail before I go home, just like I always do."  
She swallowed slightly. "Oh...okay." The female officer turned and left in a hurry.  
Muttering softly to himself, the chief continued on with his work, not even giving the urgent package issue a second thought. 


End file.
